Wednesday, November 27, 2013

If you Google "how to pace marathon," the general consensus is to start out slow and comfortable for the first 20 miles and pick up the pace for the last 10k. Well, that's dandy, except if you want to hit a very specific pace. This Saturday (AHH!) I have to actually start off a little (comfortably) fast, and maintain. That's the plan. That doesn't sound unreasonable. Kidding, it sounds totally unreasonable and it's screwing with my brain big time...

Obviously my big goal is to BQ. 3:34:XX or less... however, I would like to do that with some cushion. Ideally, 3:33 or so. Is this doable? Who knows. Here's some pacing breakdowns.

Situation 1a- perfect even split, finish in 3:33, no extra mileage:

8:07 / mile overall

1:46:20 at the half

Situation 1b- perfect even split, finish in 3:33, with an extra 0.2 miles lost on the course, total mileage 26.4 mi:

8:04 / mile overall

1:45:XX at the half

Situation 2a- start off a little fast, no extra mileage:

8:00 / mile first half

1:44:XX at the half

8:16 / mile second half

Situation 2b- start off a little fast, extra 0.2 mi run on the course

8:00 / mile first half

1:44:XX at the half

8:08 / mile second half

Situation 1 is an even split. More likely, I'll positive split because that's the way my brain works. I've been running tempos at 8 min/mile or faster, so 8 min/mile doesn't seem super fast to my legs, especially if I'm going in super fresh. Will it seem fast after I do it for 26 miles? Of course.

I have told myself that anything could happen during this run. Anything at all. I might hit The Wall (did this during Richmond last year, hated every single second of the last 8.5 miles of that race). I might start off too slowly and never be able to make up the time. I might run too fast and flame out. I might still be full from Thanksgiving and waddle my way through the whole race. I'm unpredictable!

This picture is absolutely hilarious to me. I'm easily amused.

I've been poking around the Internet, read peoples' race reports, and I was jealous for a little while that I won't have that big-time marathon experience I'm used to. I won't have a pacer or bands every mile. Hell, there won't even be all that many water stops. But that means this is MY race. It is me making my legs go at a specific speed for 26.2 miles and reaching my goal. That is really exciting.

Monday, November 25, 2013

This week's plan was just to get in a few more miles, one speed workout, and a short-ish long run. Check, check, check. Victories: It's taper! Eating breakfast is a victory. Failures: legs are going crazy. Lots of treadmill. Questioning all my life decisions.Monday: offTuesday: tmill 5.35 miles. not the most fun run.Wednesday: pool was overrun by high school swim teams, so I did 45ish minutes of intervals at home. Thursday: tmill- 1@ 6.1, 3.1 @ 7.8 (ah! fast!), 1 @ 6.8 plus c/d, 5.35 totalFriday: 5.3 on the tmillSaturday: 8.6ish in 8:40ish. Watch was being dumb.Sunday: Off!Totals: 24.6 miles run, 1 HIITMy long run was a comedy of errors. I slammed some toast and a banana before leaving the house, and my stomach wasn't totally settled, but I was on a clock so I went for it. My watch wigged out and reset in the middle of the run and was generally being irritating. It was cold (~43 when I started), breezy, and sunny, and I kept getting buffeted by more wind when cars passed. My phone was misbehaving too. It was basically all the most frustrating things that can happen on a run, all bundled up into one run. The stomach and cold issues will be present at NCR, so I should be used to them. Speaking of cold, the Runner's World "What to Wear" tool is silly. If I plug in the likely temperatures at the start of the race, it says I need tights, a jacket, gloves and a hat. If I put in the temps toward the end of the race, it gives me short sleeves and shorts. NOT HELPFUL.Here's what the rest of my weekend held:

Christmas shopping! Pretty watches.

bathroom remodeling... I held the bucket while Nick put grout on the cement board. I'm so excited for the bathroom to be back together soon!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

I previously wrote about how NCR is very different from Steamtown. This is all about how I'm going to deal with those differences.

1) Out and back course - Solution: zone out for the first third, watch the super speedy folks for the middle third, then watch the later folks at the end. You might say,"But Laurel, this so-called plan is called using your eyes, and any person with eyes would be doing this anyway!" My response: I need to be reminded to use my eyes when I'm running a marathon. Sometimes I forget.

2) On a trail - Solution: I will just take this as an advantage, and be thankful I don't have to overthink about running tangents, or running on banked roads. I will soak in the scenery and the peacefulness of running on a trail. I will probably sing to myself, count footsteps, generally let my mind wander.

3) <600 runners - Solution: WIN IT. Just kidding. If I run my goal pace, and runners are anything like they have been in previous year, I will have a slight chance of placing in my age group. This would be the biggest deal of my life, so assuming I have a good day, I'll be looking for 20-29 year old women and racing them. It will be really weird to actually race a marathon (of course, I'm saying this based on me having a really good day... really, really good). I usually only do that with the super local 5Ks. I was going to wear headphones and distract myself, but the race website very explicitly says no headphones. I would rather not be DQed on my best race ever.

4) There's a relay - Solution: Great distraction, and added motivation to make my half split speedy since I'll have people around me kicking it to the finish. Also, I'll use the fresh, quick runners who are starting up at the half as a nice distraction and a change of scenery. Again, using my eyes. I'm an innovator.

Google image searches for "innovation" are sufficient fodder for a decade of Dilbert comics. I freaking hate buzzwords and cheesy clip art. Also, you can't see the light bulb because YOU'RE SITTING ON IT, you dumb featureless goldenrod person.

5) Fewer water stops - Solution: Ugh. This is maybe the most irritating thing. I hate to sound prissy, but carrying water during races sucks. However, I don't want to deviate from my normal hydration strategy, so I'll carry my Nathan handheld with Gatorade in it, put my Gus in the pouch, and just deal with it. I have carried that bottle on all my long runs for my last 2 marathons. It's easy to carry and I'm used to it. My concern here is that during a race, especially towards the end, I get super pissy about every little thing. So if the bottle starts shifting in its holder (which it usually does) or leaking (which it also does), it is possible I will turn into a complete bitch and throw the bottle at a fellow racer. Or hopefully just a tree. I am really psyching myself out with this one.

6) I'm running with a very specific goal in mind - Solution: Change my watch to half-mile splits. Not only will this help distract me from actual running, it'll give me frequent indications of how my pace is doing and let me adjust on the fly. This means the effect of a crowded start or dropped glove or water stop will be confined to just the one split, instead of seeing it reflected in a slow mile that I then totally freak out over. Also, 4:05 for each half mile is a really easy calculation to work with.

7) (not listed on the original post, a new wrinkle I have recently discovered) It's going to be COLD. Solution: First, duh, it's late November, of course it'll be cold. Second, I am actually going to use #1 and #3 to my advantage and slightly overdress at the beginning, and shed layers when I see my dad and Nick. I get HOT when I run, so I know if I'm comfortable at the start I'll be toasty within a couple miles. Another facet to this issue is that I haven't done long runs in any of my cold weather gear. I have never run more than 5 or 6 miles in running tights, gloves, or a hat. I may or not wear tights, and I can shed gloves and a hat whenever I need to.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Kidding. Not a peak week at all! This week's plan was "Week of November 11: and now taper begins. Again. Total mileage: 35ish." I wrote that plan 4 weeks ago, when I was thinking I'd want a 3 week taper. When I wrote last week, I wanted this week to be another peak week. I really did. I wanted the confidence boost of another 20 miler and a long tempo, but after lots of hemming and hawing, I thought back to the Steamtown, and decided my best bet was to step back this week. At least a little. A general guideline is to have taper week 1 be~ 80% of your peak mileage. I went for 85%. Look at me with the indecisiveness. Victories: Running! Swimming! Failures: treadmill. Whatever. This week was weird and stressful and I got my runs in. Daylight savings is still screwing my schedule up and I currently don't care enough to drive myself 30 minutes each way to a trail or run next to 10 freshly dead deer every damn day.Monday: offTuesday: tmill 6.35 miles. I fought the couch hard on this one, and won. Legs felt fresh!Wednesday: swimming! Yay! ~2100 m (lost count) in 41 minutes. Thursday: 1 @ 6.2, 4.1 @ 7.7, 1 @ 6.7 plus c/d. Tmill. 6.35Friday: 6.3 on tmill @ 6.9 and 7.1Saturday: offSunday: 15.7ish on tmillTotals: 34.7 miles run, 2100 m swimThis weekend's long run is a sort of random number. I was going for 16, but we had somewhere to be and I screwed around and delayed my run too much, so I got 15.5. Close enough, and considering the race is only 12 days away, I think it was an alright number. Also, my stomach was pretty great.Considering my long runs the last 4 weeks before Steamtown were 13 @ 9:38, 20 @ 9:01, 10 @ 8:52, and nothing (we were traveling), I'm feeling great. I think. This marathon around, it'll be 18 @ 8:56, 20 @ 8:42, 15 @ 8:something, and whatever I do next weekend. I'm ok. It'll be ok. Somehow.Am I feeling sprightly and ready to run 8 seconds/mile faster in 12 days? Absolutely not. I'm feeling a little taper crazy already, and just entirely not ready. But that's normal, right?

Friday, November 15, 2013

The only thing I ever think about is this marathon. I dream about it. I babble to my parents and my husband about it. I bring it up in conversations because I have no social skills and it's the only thing that's interesting* about me right now. Right now, what's weighing on my mind is my race strategy.

I sometimes say strategery and I worry people will think my brain is broken. I'm using it ironically, I swear.

Steamtown was fun. Tons of fun. I swear I was smiling the whole race. I didn't really start the countdown of doom until about 4 miles left (4 miles to go... 3.9 miles... 3.6... I'm going to die here.. 3.2... ) and I certainly never hit the Wall, very luckily. NCR will be a wee bit different though. Let's list the ways.

1) Out and back course - yup, 13.1 miles out, 13.1 miles right back to where I started (the first and last 2 miles deviate a little, but not much). That's bound to mess with my mind. A lot. Also, Nick (and my dad if he chooses to come) won't be able to pop up at multiple places along the course. They could theoretically drive to various spots, but it'll be tricky. Plus side- very, very few tangents to worry about.

2) On a trail - No cute holiday decorations to look at. No cars. No policemen. No screaming fans. This part worries me the most, since I thrive off of spectator support. Spectators are just the best thing ever, and I love that there are people out there cheering runners on. There will be less of that this time, and it scares me.

3) <600 runners - I won't have masses of runners around me. I won't have people chatting away, or fun costumes, or jugglers, or any of those nice distractions that normally occur during a bigger marathon. Just me and my mind movies.

4) There's a relay - this race has folks running a 2 person relay option. So that means I'll have speedy people who are only running for 1.5 hours blowing by me in the first few miles, and then nice fresh runners popping up again at mile 13+. I am imagining the amount of hatred I'll be feeling toward those runners, and it is substantial. Whole bunch of hate.

5) Fewer water stops - This is a small race, and they have water/Gatorade stops every 3-3.5 miles. This means I'll be able to get water almost as often as I usually want to, but not QUITE as often. And heaven forbid I deviate from what I'm used to and screw something up. So, I'll be carrying my own water bottle. This is not the end of the world but it sorta feels like it right now.

6) I'm running with a specific goal in mind - The piece de resistance. I'll actually be pushing myself during this. Instead of zoning out and running super comfortably like I did during Steamtown, I'll need to be checking mile splits and doing mental math. Although mental math keeps me busy, it's also detrimental to an enjoyable race. I'll be out there for more than 3.5 hours no matter what, so I hope I can find a happy spot between obsessing and letting my legs do their own thing.

In a future post, I'll talk about how I'm dealing with these differences, and how I plan on making it a solid race, despite all these stupid things worrying me.

*Interesting is subjective. It's like pictures of your dog/cat/kid. Only you really care about it, but love makes you think that everyone else should care too.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

FoodGoal: don't be dumb. Show some restraint.I hesitate to say I'm actually making progress with this, but this weekend I only had dairy (paneer) and gluten (naan). And booze, but that was gluten free! As a result, I began this week feeling like a normal human being instead of a blimp. Also, I got a new boss and this new one doesn't have a candy jar, so my mid-day snacks will be far less likely to consist of Reese's pumpkins. It's like my company doesn't want me to gain crazy taper weight and waddle through the marathon. SleepGoal: go to bed a little earlier. Don't stress about not falling asleep in 0.2 seconds like someone (ahem, Nick) does.Eh. I can't say I've really changed at this, but I think we might have tacked another 10 or 15 minutes onto bedtime this week. Progress! I have to thank Nick for this too, since he has been extra-willing to go to bed at 9pm. He's the best.Foam-rolling/StretchingGoal: stretch well after every run. Foam roll 3x/weekSort of? After my long run this weekend I jumped in the car, no stretching, and drove 30 minutes home. I didn't even have any water because the water fountains at the trail were turned off (for the winter season?) and I had forgotten to bring extra for myself. I did foam roll later, and I think most stretching is just a placebo, but it's still a nice habit to have. I'll work on this.StressGoal: stuff will happen that will stress me out. Try and relax. Try not to take stupid stuff at work personally, and really unwind when I'm at home.Eh, again. There's some upheaval going on at work and it's been irritating, and far too often I find myself fuming with rage by the time I come home. That's not healthy. I'm lucky I can vent about work to Nick and he knows what I'm talking about (we work at the same company). I just need to finish my venting feeling relieved, not still feeling irritated. Strength training Goal: planks regularly, plus a little extra strength work for funsies.Yup. No HIIT this week or last, but sneaking in as much "strength" as possible. Just trying to maintain some degree of fitness.IronGoal: 2x/day, every dayYes? Ish? Again, I don't have an indicator of this. I should get one of these:

Monday, November 11, 2013

This week's plan was "Week of November 4: same as last week, but even more miles! Total mileage: 40ish." I wanted to make this my (first) peak week, and have it look like my peak week for Steamtown. Because I wanted everything to be as identical to Steamtown as possible. Oh except I have decided to do a 2 week taper instead of 3 weeks. Why? Because I am feeling some self-doubt (see Friday's post) and I'll take 1 more week of training to help steel my confidence a little more. I am not sure it's the very best choice for me, considering I went into Steamtown feeling fresh as a daisy and antsy to run, but I also felt fresh and antsy the weekend before that race, so... Victories: Comfortable, even-paced long run on a trail similar to what I'll be on at the end of the month. Lots of miles this week. Failures: Treadmill. Treadmill. Treadmill. I know I've professed my love for it, but I hate to rely on it for half my runs. At least I got outside for my long run! Monday: offTuesday: tmill 7.35 miles. It gets dark early.Wednesday: bike 19.35 @ 18.2Thursday: tmill 7.35- 1 @ 6.1, 5.1 @ 7.7, 1 @ 6.7 plus c/dFriday: 6.35 outside by my parents' house, 8:05Saturday: offSunday: 20.1 @ 8:42Totals: 41.1 miles run, 19.35 miles bikeLong run minutiae (I'm really trying to figure out meal timing/my stomach): Saturday night we went to a housewarming party and I snacked on veggies, and some chips/salsa/hummus. I also snacked on cupcakes. Except I DIDN'T, because apparently I learned self-control sometime last week. Only took me 28.2 years to learn that. Instead, I waited to gorge myself on Indian food at a proper dinner (paneer, why must you be so perfect? I'll take every stomachache forever... so yummy). Had a decent amount of food around 8:30pm, then came home and had dessert, and slept 9 hours. Glorious. In the morning (10am) I had eggs, banana and toast, then an apple and some date/coconut/almond bites at around 12. And tons of water.I had planned on leaving for my run by 1:30, because that was the latest I could possibly leave and be done by 5pm when the sun sets. Around 1:00 I started to get everything together and realized my watch was completely dead. I could not handle that (I'm a data junkie). Instead of throwing up my hands and quitting everything, or hopping on the treadmill, I plugged in my watch and busied myself around the house for the next 30 minutes while the watch got a decent charge. I ended up leaving the house at almost 2pm, which was late, but I was determined to make it work. And I did. I drank my Gatorade every 2 miles plus Gu 15 minutes before and then every 5 miles. I just chugged along and let my legs go a little faster than I normally do on a long run. My pace stayed very consistent (8:30-8:48 for miles 1-16) and then slowed a little the last 4. I felt good overall and after I got back to the car I took a moment to reflect on what I had done. My body is getting (relatively) good at running distances like this. It's unreal. I just go out and ask my legs to churn out 20 miles, and they do. I'm so proud of what I'm capable of doing. And now I'm crying. Ugh. Stupid emotions. 19 days till NCR!

Friday, November 8, 2013

In my head, I am a chubby, slow person. My trip from "I want to run a marathon" to "I want to qualify for Boston" has been quick. Too quick for me at times. My mind is nowhere near where my body is. When I see a mile split with a 7 in front of it- even during a 5K, I still think that I am going way too fast and I'm going to blow up (In a recent 5K I ran a mile in 6:53. My head spun even more at that one). I have run literally a dozen workouts with multiple miles at sub-8 pace. Why won't my mind catch up to my body?

This causes a lot of self-doubt. A whole lot. Going into Steamtown I was feeling normal taper crazies and I felt slow and heavy. That caused me to lower my goal from BQ (way back in September) to sub-3:45 earlier this month, to maybe sub-4 right before the race. I lowered all my expectations. As a result, I ran the whole race conservatively and had a wonderful time, but I also probably could have BQ'ed that day had I put any thought into my splits. It wasn't even within my realm of possibility.

Fear of failure = don't even try.

So now I'm a month out from another race that I registered for specifically for the chance to BQ. NO PRESSURE. Just $100 registration fee for nothing but a chance to reach a major milestone. I am doubting myself again. What if Steamtown was a fluke? What if I'm not a 3:3X marathoner, but I'm really the same 4:50 marathoner I was 2 years ago? What if this race is a huge disappointment? Every slightly tough mile and slow split in training just keeps reinforcing this.

A big part of running is mental, of course, but I can quickly turn a mental struggle into a physical one. If I'm feeling self-doubt, suddenly the minor pain in my leg/arm/whatever feels 100X worse. If I'm feeling self-doubt, suddenly the 2 extra taper pounds I'm lugging around my waist feel like 20. If I'm feeling self-doubt, suddenly I get a mental image of myself that looks identical to 2009 me, who was... let's just say, not the sleekest/fastest person.

I honestly have no idea what to do about this. I can look on paper, at real numbers, and see evidence that I'm not as slow as I think I am. Hard numbers should be sufficient, right? But they're not.

I wish I had a plan I could put into Excel and check off some boxes, and solve this, but this is bigger than just NCR. This is the same part of my brain that's surprised when I don't need a size 12 pant or when I am able to stop myself from bingeing on candy. This is the part of my brain that compares myself to other girls and tries to figure out if I'm thinner than them. This sounds horribly bitchy and shallow, but my brain is horribly bitchy and shallow... I try and be better than this but I'm not there yet. I lack confidence in pretty much everything, so the BQ is no different. Let's just hope I can keep those doubting voices quiet for 3:34:59 (or less!) on November 30.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

First of all, why am I using a hashtag in my title? Did I suddenly start using any sort of social media where hashtags are involved? Nope. Just wanted to fit in with the cool kids, and nothing does that more than a self-determined slogan with a pound sign in front of it.

Here's how non-running stuff that directly influences my running has been going.

FoodGoal: don't be dumb. Show some restraint.

Nope. Nope nope nope. During the week I do alright (even with a million types of very tempting Halloween candy all around), it's on the weekends I tend to say to hell with it, and eat whatever. This weekend I did that, sort of. I went to Punkin Chunkin on Saturday. I took a bunch of me-friendly snacks and got some fries but when I got home, I was pretty much like this:

if you know what this is from, you can be my friend. If not, you're probably a well-adjusted human being. But we can't be friends.

By the time we got home, I was pissed at myself for eating "too much," (my calories are stupid low on days I don't work out) and might have been buzzed from lots of cider and not a lot of food, so Nick and I got pizza. And I had a cupcake. On Sunday, we still had another couple cupcakes left, PLUS half a pizza. That pizza won't just eat itself! So I had more. I also ate some of Nick's pancakes at breakfast because I was doing a long run later. And therefore I should totally eat all the carbs. Ugh.

This.. yeah. I still like to lay in bed, just thinking about how many hours of sleep I'd be getting if I feel asleep right now. How about now? And now? Still awake? How about now? This is a problem I've had all my life, and I don't know how to change it. I'm just doing my best. When I was young, my dad said that even laying down and resting is beneficial, even if you can't sleep. There might not be science behind that, but I've always believed it. So even if I'm not sleeping, I'm still resting, damnit.

Foam-rolling/StretchingGoal: stretch well after every run. Foam roll 3x/week

Yes! I actually love/hate my foam roller, and I think I can actually feel a difference when I use it, so I have been doing well with this. Same with stretching. Any excuse to be totally stationary after running hard is welcomed!

StressGoal: stuff will happen that will stress me out. Try and relax. Try not to take stupid stuff at work personally, and really unwind when I'm at home.

Um. I don't know. I think if I don't have legitimate stress in my life, my life forms a weird stress vacuum and it gets filled with other stupid stuff to worry about. I'm basically at 50% freaked out at all times. I'm an anxious person. I will continue to be mindful of this.

Eh. I did HIIT this week, which is strength, and did planks a couple times. I didn't want to do anything over the top or unusual, just keep on chugging and keep my body overall in ok shape for the next month.

IronGoal: 2x/day, every day

Maybe? I don't have any indicators of when I do/don't take it, because I don't have a pill bottle where I can count and see if I've taken all the doses for the day/week. I should probably figure that out. Regardless, my running has been going really well, so by that indicator, I'm doing ok. Just need to keep on it.

Monday, November 4, 2013

This week's planwas "Week of October 28: add a day of speedwork, a day of HIIT, and even more miles! Total mileage: 30ish." I also had an unspoken desire to cross-train one or more days this week. I did HIIT with Nick on Monday for the first time in over a month and it was BRUTAL. He and I spent the next 3 days hobbling. It wasn't until Friday that I really started to feel back to normal and fairly pain-free. I, somehow, still managed to get in workouts all week. Once I started running or biking, my legs didn't feel painful. I actually felt pleasantly strong. Speedwork returned also this week. I did 4 quick tempo miles with a slow mile at the beginning and the end. I wanted that run to be over before it started, basically. It was miserable, I felt sluggish, but I still finished. And then I was really proud of myself. That's kind of a theme right now. After the post-marathon endorphin extravaganza died down, it turns out I am just SO OVER training. "It's only 5 more weeks! That's nothing! You already trained for 18 weeks, what's 5 more?!" SHOVE IT.

Victories: I did cross-train! Twice! Yay me! And I did a 4 mile tempo run pretty fast. And I did my long run. I'm pretty much just 100% success right now. It's ok. I hate my relentless positivity too.Failures: Pizza happened. 2 days in a row. Oops?Monday: HIIT, arms, and abs with Nick... it has been too long. My legs wanted to fall off and walking the next day was ridiculous.Tuesday: 5.3 miles outside @ 8:23Wednesday: bike 17.75 @ 17.1Thursday: tmill 1@ 6.1, 4.05 @ 7.6 and 7.7, 1 @ 6.6 plus c/d. 6.35 total. (this felt hard, but in a good way? I wanted to puke, but I didn't, so I'm calling it a win).Friday: 6.3 miles outside @ 8somethingSaturday: offSunday: 18.25 miles on the tmill. Totals: 36.25 miles run, 17.75 miles bike, 1 HIIT

Friday, November 1, 2013

I knew this month would be wonky with a couple of taper weeks, a marathon week, then recovery. I tapered even better than I was supposed to (better = sarcasm. I skipped runs.)! This month is a big milestone (pun!) for me- 1000 miles for the year! I wasn't sure if this was a reasonable goal for me for this year, since I'm generally not a fan of high mileage and my running intensity wanes throughout the year, but I pulled it off. Even with most April running being rightly displaced by wedding fun. Yay me! I unceremoniously hit the 1000 mile mark sometime during my warm-up mile during yesterday's speed workout. There were no balloons. No party. I feel snubbed.

This was a lower mileage month for me for the year, and my legs are feeling great. They're fairly fresh and I've been able to knock out some decent speed in the last couple weeks without really feeling draggy. During the peak of marathon training, I'd be dragging my butt up the 2 flights of stairs to my office in the morning. Lately (except for being debilitated by HIIT), I've felt almost sprightly. It's a nice change. I might also be dosing myself with iron a bit better. Can't discount having the right amount of nutrients to actually fuel your body.